1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a bath for use with a bed for a sick person (hereinafter referred to as "the sick").
2. Prior Art
There have been many beds with a bath for the sick disclosed. For instance, in the bed with a bath for the sick disclosed in the Japanese patent laid-open publication No. Hei 4-215757, the bath is supported shrinkably in the vertical direction with a supporting member and when it is not used, it is shrinked in its height and accommodated under a bed by drawing it along a rail, and when taking a bath, it is drawn out to the side of the bed along the rail and elongated in its height to use the bath. The opening of the bath is squared using four supporting bars (hereinafter referred to as "squared"). Further, in Japanese patent publication No. Hei 3-37942, a squared bath, which is able to be drawn in and out under a bed, is disclosed, and, as a popular bed with a bath for the sick, a squared bath is fixed under the bed and the bed is descended into the bath, and the sick can therein take a bath.
Now, since the above conventional bath for use with a bed for the sick is squared, the cost of manufacturing such a bath is expensive. In the case of the type of bath which is drawn in and out under a bed, it also becomes necessary to provide members for supporting the bath and an operating mechanism thereof. The problem is the high cost of manufacturing such a bed for the sick as it becomes even higher. In addition, if the bath is to be prepared in a rental manner, in the case where the bath is squared rigidly, it occupies a large space, so that it is inconvenient to carry.
Further, in the case where such beds are used in hospitals or general homes, when the sick recover, the baths become unnecessary and it is desirable to use the bed in a normal manner. But, if the baths are squared rigidly, they will tend to occupy a large amount of storage space. In addition, the bath always has to be kept clean. In particular, if the bath is to be prepared in a rental manner, since many people use the same bath, such bath is expected to be newly prepared for each use, but actually it is not possible to prepare a squared bath at each time of use due to the expensive cost of doing so, which causes in that case a problem concerning its cleanness. Also in the case where such bath is used in a rental manner in hospitals or general homes, it has been a problem to pursue an ample cleaning since the bath has to be cleaned indoors, and the squared bath can not be removed from the bed, which makes it difficult to avoid the spatter of water.
The present invention has been done in the light of the above problem, and the object thereof is to provide a bath for use with a bed for the sick, which is low in cost, easy to replace and clean, miniaturized in size and has increased handling efficiency.